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Eco-Chic - Flame Retardant

24.1.12

It's a new year and Eco Chic, Jo Alcorn of Whitewash & Co is back to keep us in the know, and break down all those eco and green terms we come across. This month, she is uncovering what's behind fire retardant products, and if we are safe from the product that keeps us safe from fire.

Flame retardant, what
does that even mean!

Flame retardant, that
sounds scary, something more powerful then fire, really!! That is like the
super hero of all chemicals if that is true. Which raises the question what is
this chemical that can stand up against fire and keep the product protected and
in tact while fire attacks it?

Flame retardant is
important in some cases for sure, like fire fighting uniforms, certain building
materials, electrical wire cloths or people who lite fire to their clothing as
stunts. But is it really necessary in our homes. All I can think about is what
kind of VOC’s are produced by this chemical. The most common place this
chemical is found within our homes is our mattresses, right at the surface
where we lay our heads for hours at a time. Originally this chemical was added
due to people smoking and falling a sleep, however is it necessary to contaminated
us all now in our most precious time of relaxation?

So what is this
chemical, “Brominated flame retardants (BFRs) are organobromidecompounds that have an inhibitory effect
on the ignition of combustible organic materials. Of the commercialized
chemical flame retardants, the brominated variety are most widely used.” Oh
good old Wikipedia. “Many brominated chemicals are coming under increasing criticism in their
use in household furnishings and where children would come into contact with
them. Some believe the chemicals, including PBDE could have harmful effects on
humans and animals. Increasing concern has prompted some European countries to
ban some of them, following the precautionary principlemore common in Europe.[4]
They are lipophilic and bioaccumulative. BFRs have been found in people all
over the world” What!! Banned from Europe!! Now I am a proud Canadian, however Europe seems to always be a head of the game when it
comes to security and safety of products. So this raises an eye brow even more,
how dangerous is this chemical that is used on our mattresses and almost all
fabric’s in hospitality spaces?

Research on
laboratory animals have linked “PBDE exposure to an array of adverse health
effects including thyroid hormone disruption, permanent learning and memory
impairment, behavioural changes, hearing deficits, delayed puberty onset,
decreased sperm count, fetal malformations and, possibly, cancer. Research in
animals shows that exposure to brominated fire retardants in-utero or during
infancy leads to more significant harm than exposure during adulthood, and at
much lower levels. Many questions remain, but new evidence raises concerns that
low levels of PBDE exposure pose a significant health risk to developing
animals, and may pose a health risk to fetuses, infants and children at levels
currently detected in American women.”

I find sometimes I
wish I didn’t do this research. The PBDE chemical that is used in all of our
homes, hotels, restaurants and sometime our clothing is a very dangerous
substance, and we have lived with this enemy for years!!! I stopped looking
further into because I kept finding highly disturbing information, on how the
government and society has known and allowed this chemical to enter our living
spaces. Now this is the conspiracy theorist in me, but could this chemical be linked
to the drug companies and them cashing in the horrible health effects that we
seek medical advice on? Raises a question on why we have allowed such a
chemical as the “Fire retardant”, which is a Marketing word, to even be allowed
to enter our precious homes and expose our loved ones to ticking time bombs! So,
the next time you lay your head down on that comfortable and warm bed of yours,
stop and think, what are you exposing yourself to??

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4
comments

New Zealand is also ahead of the game in terms of fire retardants & crib mattresses. They found that when the chemicals were first introduced in the 1950's to crib mattresses, the rate of SIDS increased significantly. Since they've encouraged non-fire retardant mattresses or using a special kind of encasement to contain the off-gassing in the past few years, the number of SIDS cases have decreased dramatically.

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I'm Vitania. A furniture maker, design aficionado, and general lover of all things beautiful and simple. Here is where I share my thoughts and inspiration. A well appointed room, the perfect winter coat, a painting I can't stop thinking about, a book I should have read years ago.

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